Every monarch needs their supporters, and in Metaphor: ReFantazio, your Followers are your friends, your comrades, and the most important mechanic in the game.
Followers are Metaphor’s equivalent of Social Links or Confidants from the Persona games. If you’ve played those games, you’ll pick up on how this system works pretty quickly. The loop is simple: gain Followers, improve your relationships, and grow stronger.
If you want to know how to unlock all Followers in Metaphor: ReFantazio and, crucially, how to level them up efficiently, this guide will explain what you need to know. This likely goes without saying, but spoilers ahead.
All Metaphor: ReFantazio Followers
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There are fourteen Followers for you to bring into your circle throughout the game. Your Follower list is comprised of your party members who fight alongside you, and important companions who aid you indirectly. Some will join you on your journey, some can be found in specific towns, and others will dip in and out of the story as you progress.
Each Follower is tied to a particular Archetype. Establishing your relationship with each Follower will unlock their respective Archetype, allowing you to research and equip it in Akademia.
The full list of Followers and their assigned Archetypes are as follows:
- Gallica – Mage Archetype
- Strohl – Warrior Archetype
- Hulkenberg – Knight Archetype
- Heismay – Thief Archetype
- Junah – Dancer Archetype
- Eupha – Summoner Archetype
- Basilio – Berserker Archetype
- Neuras – Gunner Archetype
- Maria – Healer Archetype
- Catherina – Brawler Archetype
- Alonzo – Faker Archetype
- Bardon – Commander Archetype
- Brigita – Merchant Archetype
- More – Seeker Archetype
Much like how your relationships with each Confidant in Persona 5 must be developed to improve your power with their related Arcana, you’ll need to level up your standing with the Followers to improve their related Archetypes and earn yourself some powerful non-combat perks.
What is the benefit of Followers in Metaphor: ReFantazio?
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As mentioned, each Follower represents a particular Archetype. It’s only through gaining each Follower that you add those Archetypes to your repertoire. Some characters will join your party with their own Archetypes, but those Archetypes will be unique to them until you make them your Follower.
Furthermore, each Archetype can be upgraded to more powerful forms, these are unlocked by improving your relationships with the relevant Followers. There are plenty more benefits to leveling up your Followers, as we will outline below, including discounts in stores, improved experience gains in and out of combat, and much more.
Acquiring Followers and improving your relationships is one of the most fundamental parts of growing stronger in Metaphor, so you will need to focus on it as much as possible. When you have time between dungeons, leveling up your Followers should generally be your top priority.
How to unlock all Followers in Metaphor: ReFantazio and level them up
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The main way to add Followers to your list is to progress through the main story. Most of the Followers are unmissable, and you’re guaranteed to interact with almost all of them. So long as you are exploring each area, talking to anyone with a request icon and completing those requests, you should have no issue unlocking all the Followers.
The biggest hurdle you are likely to face is meeting Royal Virtue requirements. Sometimes, you will interact with a potential Follower only to find that you need your Eloquence, Imagination, or another virtue to be at a higher level to properly respond to them. For example, you’ll need level 2 Imagination to convince Alonzo to help you, beginning the quest to gain him as a Follower. This is why consistently working on your Royal Virtues is incredibly important; use your downtime wisely and make sure you’re levelling these stats.
Once a character becomes your Follower, you can continue to level them up by interacting with them. You’ll notice that, at the start of each Afternoon and Night, you might hear the voice of a particular Follower. This means the next step of your relationship is ready to unlock, so you should go and speak with them. You might need to go complete an event or complete a quest step for them, but doing so will move that Follower up to the next level.
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So long as you keep improving your virtues, talking to your Followers regularly, and completing their requests, they will continue to improve and level up if you spend an afternoon or evening with them. If you want to know specifically what is needed to level up a particular Follower, check them up on the Follower list in the pause menu.
Followers who can be leveled up will have a handshake symbol beside their portrait in the Follower list. If it is grey, it means there is something you need to do to level them up. You can select them and press X/A to see exactly what you need to do for them. If the symbol is red, this means the next step of their quest is ready and you simply need to go and speak to them at the appropriate time to level them up.
Below, we go into detail on how to unlock and level up each individual Follower.
How to unlock and level up Gallica
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Gallica is your fairy companion who accompanies the protagonist from the very start of the game. She is tied to the Mage Archetype, but also gives you the ability to hear your Followers and analyze monsters.
As she is part of the main story from the beginning, you don’t need to do anything more than play the early stages of the main story to add her as one of your Followers. There isn’t a particular quest or any requirements to be met for leveling Gallica up. Instead, she levels up at set points throughout the main story.
How to unlock and level up Strohl
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You meet Leon Strohl very early on during the main story — when the protagonist joins up with the guard. He becomes your Follower during the opening section of the game, and awakens the Warrior Archetype.
In order to level Strohl up, you’ll need to help him deal with the refugees from his village. Talk to him in town and on the Gauntlet Runner to advance the quest. You’ll need to level your Imagination up to complete some stages of this quest line and help Strohl realise his parents’ vision for him and their people.
How to unlock and level up Hulkenberg
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Eiselin Hulkenberg joins the party during the initial quest in Grand Trad, shortly after the assassination plot with Grius. She becomes a Follower during this time, once you agree to do some training with her. Her Archetype is the Knight.
Levelling up Hulkenberg is much the same as Strohl, you just need to chat with her and advance her side story. This involves her old rival, a knight called Rhodanthe who has become a brutal commander. Help her take this sadistic bully down a peg to maximise your relationship with Hulkenberg.
How to unlock and level up Heismay
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Heismay Noctule is a Eugief knight who you encounter during the Martira chapter of the main campaign. Shortly after discovering his innocence in the kidnapping plot, Heismay joins your party with his powerful rogue-esque abilities and the Thief Archetype.
You’ll need to improve your virtues to help Heismay with his side quest. He lost his son some time ago and has been carrying around the urn with the boy’s bones still inside. Help Heismay find a place to put his son to rest, and he will grow stronger.
How to unlock and level up Junah
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Junah, real name Junai Cygnus, is the most famous songstress in the kingdom, and an ally of Louis. During the Brilehaven chapter, you’ll discover her intentions very much align with yours, and she joins the group with her Masked Dancer Archetype.
Although she joins you in Brilhaven, you’ll need to chat to her in Virga Island and deal with a disturbance preventing funeral rituals to gain her as a Follower. From there, you simply need to continue interacting with her to level her up. She gains a powerful passive ability to give the party MP after battles, so be sure to level her up quickly.
How to unlock and level up Eupha
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You meet Eupha on Virga Island, where she works as the Mustari people’s priestess. Your main objective here is to rescue her from the Dragon Temple, after which she awakens the Summoner Archetype and joins your group.
Back in the village, she is given the task of completing the Trial of Malnova at the Land of Ceremony. Complete this request to officially add Eupha to your Follower list, then continue to grow your relationship with her to improve her summoning skills.
How to unlock and level up Basilio
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Basilio Magnus is the younger and larger of the two Paripus soldiers you meet who work closely with Louis. The brothers appear regularly throughout the story, and Basilio joins the party properly later in the game when you reach Montario.
Basilio is the last Follower to join your group and brings with him the powerful Berserker Archetype.
How to unlock and level up Neuras
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Neuras Corax is a gifted engineer and the pilot of your Gauntlet Runner. He joins you on your adventure at the beginning of the Tournament for the Throne and transports you to your first challenge.
While Neuras is a constant figure throughout the game, he doesn’t become a Follower until you visit the village of Komero during your time in Martira. Here you discover the journal of Neuras’ mentor, which begins your search for the lost relics.
The journal can then be found in the engine room just as you walk through the door. As you progress through the main story, further sections of it will be unlocked, revealing the locations of more relics. Finding the relics is pretty simple, you simply need to go to the locations mentioned in the journal and find the chest marked on your map.
You might not even need to read the journal, as Gallica will tell you when you have entered a dungeon containing a lost relic. Be thorough as you search each location, and the relics will come to you. Each one you find increases Neuras’ level, improving the Gauntlet Runner and the Gunner Archetype.
How to unlock and level up Maria
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Maria is Grius’ daughter and a fixture of the main story in the early goings. Gaining her as a Follower unlocks the Healer Archetype, as well as some powerful passive bonuses. Leveling Maria up will increase the experience you gain from battles, and unlock the ability to cook without using up your time.
Maria is pretty straightforward when it comes to leveling up: You simply need to go back to Grand Trad and talk to her regularly. You’ll often see her pop up at the start of your day, so be sure to teleport back to Sunshade Row. You’ll find her just outside the Hushed Honeybee Inn during the day.
How to unlock and level up Catherina
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Catherina Grann is a Paripus candidate for the throne who believes that the wealthy need to be punished for hoarding their riches. You’ll encounter her first in the Regalith Grand Cathedral dungeon in the early stages of the game, and then you’ll meet her often during your travels for the tournament.
You’ll see other Gauntlet Runners on the map as you travel, and if you encounter them you’ll likely end up in a battle with the owner. Catherina’s runner is pink, like the rest of her aesthetic. Find her and defeat her to gain the Brawler Archetype, and to level her up as a Follower. She grants powerful abilities later on, including her help in certain battles.
How to unlock and level up Alonzo
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Alonzo is met in Martira, as he witnesses a pickpocket rob Grius’ Dagger from you. To begin his quest, you’ll need to get your Imagination to level 2, after which he helps get your dagger back. For giving him information on the tournament, he agrees to help you and becomes your Follower.
This unlocks the Faker Archetype, and starts his side quest. Continue to seek Alonzo out throughout the kingdom, usually in the evening. Help him with his goals to increase his Follower level.
How to unlock and level up Bardon in Metaphor
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After you complete the main quest in Martira, Bardon becomes the acting leader of the city. He is found in Thoroughfare Square, and seeks your help in leading the town forward as the new Governor.
You gain the Commander Archetype from Bardon, and you can continue to improve it by regularly returning to Martira and helping him with his new duties.
How to unlock and level up Brigitta in Metaphor
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Brigitta Lycaon is the secretive owner of Lycaon Magic Association, the magic igniter store in Grand Trad. You will likely encounter her early in the story, as she is often found on Sunlumeo Street, right outside her store.
Initially, she will think much. By improving your virtues, you can convince her to work with you, unlocking the Merchant Archetype. This begins a fairly bleak quest line where you’ll help Brigitta with some tasks that will seem strange at first, until the sad truth is revealed. You’ll generally find her in the evening at her store, so head there whenever you hear her.
How to unlock and level up More in Metaphor
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More is the strange amnesiac you meet in Akademia, who claims to have been imprisoned by the former king. What little he remembers includes studying Archetypes, and is your contact for changing and improving your Archetypes.
After the protagonist awakens their Seeker Archetype at the beginning of the game, More becomes the Follower associated with it. To level him up, you’ll need to complete the More’s Task quests. These quests centre around Archetypes, like levelling specific Archetypes or unlocking a certain amount of them.
Completing each of these quests will take time, but they are worth doing in order to level up More as a Follower and improve the Seeker Archetype.
Next, see how to unlock all Archetypes, how to increase Eloquence, and how to see all endings.